Outdoor Living Contractor in St. Johns & Fruit Cove, FL
Backyards for the St. Johns and Fruit Cove communities, designed in person with you in AutoCAD. We manage every step, from permit to final walkthrough.
From RiverTown on the St. Johns River to Durbin Crossing, Aberdeen and Stillwater, northwest St. Johns County is full of family backyards that get used every day. AY Luxury Designs designs and builds cedar gazebos, screen enclosures, paver patios, fire pits and outdoor kitchens for homeowners in St. Johns and Fruit Cove (32259). We handle the design, the HOA paperwork, the St. Johns County permits and the build, so you get less chores and more chill.
AY Luxury Designs LLC · Certified Building Contractor CBC1268168 · Amany Youssef: Registered Building Contractor RB29003947 · Registered Electrical Contractor ER13016631 · Registered Underground Utility & Excavation Contractor RU11066663
Book a Consultation · Call (904) 629-8803
Outdoor Living Services in St. Johns and Fruit Cove
Every project is custom designed for your lot, your home's architecture and the way you actually use your backyard.
Pavilions & Cabanas: freestanding or attached shade structures in cedar, pressure-treated lumber or composite, with roofing matched to your home. Add a TV, fireplace or outdoor kitchen underneath.
Gazebos: attached and detached cedar gazebos, including A-frame gazebos tied into your roofline and solid-roof gazebos combined with screen enclosures.
Screen Enclosures: pool and patio enclosures that keep bugs and debris out without losing the view, including our expanded-view option and motorized retractable screens.
Outdoor Kitchens: you choose the layout, brick or stone, appliances and countertops, and we build it to handle Florida heat and humidity.
Cedar Pergolas: custom pergolas built and finished on site.
Paver Patios and Paver Pool Decks: pavers, travertine and marble in slip-resistant, durable layouts. We'll work alongside the pool builder of your choice.
Why Building in St. Johns Is Different
Big master-planned communities, each with its own review. RiverTown, Durbin Crossing, Aberdeen, Stillwater, Celestina and the other 32259 communities each have their own architectural review committee and guidelines, and approval normally has to come before work starts. We prepare a neighborhood-specific HOA/ARB package for every client, with a scaled site plan, elevations, materials and 3D renderings, so your application is complete the first time.
St. Johns County permits, clearance sheets and a Notice of Commencement. St. Johns County requires a building permit for most improvements and, in most cases, accepts a permit application only after a clearance sheet is issued. For most permitted projects, the county requires a recorded Notice of Commencement before the first inspection, which protects you from liens. Contractors also have to be licensed and registered with the county to pull permits; AY Luxury Designs is registered with St. Johns County. We prepare and file all of it.
Sloped yards are part of the design. Yards here are rarely perfectly flat. On recent St. Johns projects we've carried walkways down sloped lots, set fire pit areas below the main patio and raised patios with retaining walls.
Every permitted structure gets its necessary engineered documents. Gazebos, A-frames, patio extensions, screen enclosures and outdoor kitchens are permanent structures, and Florida's building code sets wind requirements that depend on your exact location. Every permitted structure we build gets its necessary engineered documents, and we pull the permits and pass the inspections that confirm it. County requirements vary, so we confirm exactly what your project needs before we design.
Finishes chosen for the water. On waterfront properties, we choose materials and finishes for the exposure.
According to the EPA, shaded surfaces can be 20 to 45°F cooler than the peak temperatures of unshaded materials.
Jacksonville's air is humid: average morning relative humidity runs about 88% over the year, falling to about 56% in the afternoon, per Florida Climate Center data.
Who Builds Your Project
AY stands for Amany Youssef, the founder who designs every project with you and stays personally involved through the final walkthrough. Amany came to the United States as a young child, grew up in Jacksonville, graduated from the University of Florida, and earned her Florida building contractor license. When she did, she became the youngest female licensed building contractor in Florida at the time. Today she leads an experienced team of designers, project managers and builders.
Amany is a member of Professional Women in Building, a council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA), and serves as co-chair of its STEM committee. Here in St. Johns County, she speaks regularly to students at Tocoi Creek High School about careers in construction, and AY Luxury Designs takes on Tocoi Creek students as interns.
AY Luxury Designs LLC · Certified Building Contractor CBC1268168 · Amany Youssef: Registered Building Contractor RB29003947 · Registered Electrical Contractor ER13016631 · Registered Underground Utility & Excavation Contractor RU11066663
Our Design-Build Process
Design session with Amany. Your project starts at our design studio, where you sit down with founder Amany Youssef and watch your backyard take shape live on screen.
Free AutoCAD design and a custom quote. Every project gets to-scale 3D renderings and a fully itemized custom quote, delivered within 24 hours of your initial consultation, so you know exactly what you're getting.
In-home design visit. Amany comes to your home for an in-person walkthrough, so we look at the project together where you're most comfortable, finalize the details and choose your colors and finishes.
Engineering, HOA and permits handled. We get the necessary engineered documents for every permitted structure, prepare your HOA/ARB package and pull the St. Johns County permits.
Build. We can start most projects within two to four weeks. Our crews follow a build process we've refined over many projects, and you get daily updates.
The AY Advantage. You hold back the final 5% for seven days after completion, so we can take care of any touch-ups before you sign off.
Financing is available through Synchrony Bank, including 18 months of no-interest financing, and we have other financing options as well.
Recent St. Johns Projects
Grand cedar gazebo, fire pit walk and color-changing waterfall, RiverTown An expansive cedar gazebo tied into the roofline, inside a screen enclosure with our expanded-view upgrade. Out in the yard, a paver walkway follows the slope of the lot down to a wood-burning fire pit and a color-changing waterfall, with lighting throughout.
A-frame cedar gazebo with outdoor kitchen, Durbin Crossing An A-frame cedar gazebo tied into the house roof, sheltering an outdoor kitchen with granite counters, with a new paver patio and a wood-burning fire pit just beyond.
Composite-roof patio covers and screen enclosure with hot tub pad, Aberdeen An A-frame composite-roof patio cover joined to a flat section, inside a screen enclosure with our expanded-view upgrade, over a new paver patio with a hot tub pad and in-ground lighting.
AY Luxury Designs was named a Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite.
Areas We Serve in St. Johns and Fruit Cove
We proudly serve homeowners all across St. Johns and Fruit Cove (32259), from RiverTown and Julington Creek Plantation to Oxford Estates and St. Johns Forest, and everywhere in between. Wherever you call home in St. Johns, we'd love to hear about your project, so give us a call.
Nearby, see our pages for Nocatee, Ponte Vedra Beach and St. Augustine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an outdoor living project cost in St. Johns and Fruit Cove? Every project gets a custom quote with an in-person AutoCAD design, and every AY Luxury Designs project has a $10,000 minimum. What drives the cost: the size of the space; materials; features like fireplaces, fire pits and screens; engineering and permits; and site work. You get a fully itemized quote within 24 hours of your design consultation.
Do I need a permit for a gazebo, screen enclosure or outdoor kitchen in St. Johns County? Usually, yes. St. Johns County requires a building permit for most improvements, and in most cases a clearance sheet comes first. Most permitted projects also need a recorded Notice of Commencement before the first inspection. Every permitted structure we build gets its necessary engineered documents, and we pull the permits and schedule the inspections for you.
Will my HOA have to approve the project? In RiverTown, Durbin Crossing, Aberdeen, Stillwater and most other 32259 communities, yes, and approval normally has to come before work starts. We prepare a neighborhood-specific HOA/ARB package with site plans, materials and 3D renderings to submit to your association.
Can you build on a sloped yard? Yes. We design around the slope with retaining walls, steps and walkways, so every level is easy to use.
How do you build for storms and lots near the water? Every permitted structure gets its necessary engineered documents.
Can I see the design before I commit? Yes. Every client gets free, to-scale 3D renderings, created with Amany during an in-person design session at our Jacksonville studio.
How soon can my project start? Usually within two to four weeks. The exact start depends on your project's scope.
Do you offer financing? Yes. We offer financing through Synchrony Bank, including 18 months of no-interest financing, and we have other financing options as well.
Ready to Design Your St. Johns Backyard?
Book your in-person design session with Amany and see your new outdoor space in AutoCAD before anything is built.
Call (904) 629-8803 or book a consultation. Design studio: 8917 Western Way, Suite 7, Jacksonville, FL 32256 · Monday–Friday, 10am–5pm
AY Luxury Designs LLC · Certified Building Contractor CBC1268168 · Amany Youssef: Registered Building Contractor RB29003947 · Registered Electrical Contractor ER13016631 · Registered Underground Utility & Excavation Contractor RU11066663